A New Darkness: Starblade Chronicles, Book 1

Something is terrorizing the villages of the county. People are dying - covered in blood, their faces frozen in fear. But with not a wound on their bodies. Battling creatures of the dark is the job of the local spook, but 17-year-old Thomas Ward never finished his apprenticeship. It will be no easy task to earn the trust of the villagers and to defeat a monster that no one has ever seen. Yet Jenny - a seventh daughter of a seventh daughter - knows an awful lot about this new evil. And she's willing to share what she's learned with Tom…if he takes her on as his apprentice.

The Dark Army

Tom Ward is now spook of the county, and with his apprentice, Jenny, he continues the fight against boggarts, witches, and terrifying new creatures of the dark. Together with the witch assassin Grimalkin, Tom and Jenny lead an army into battle against a dangerous enemy - but it all goes catastrophically wrong. The situation seems hopeless until Alice - Tom's lost love and a powerful witch - appears. But Alice had turned to the dark: Can Tom trust her now?

Arena 13: The Prey

Following the first year of his apprenticeship as an Arena 13 combatant, Leif seeks information from his late father's people. There he learns more about the man, who was the greatest arena fighter ever seen. The man who came so close to destroying the demon Hob but paid a terrible price for every victory. Leif returns to the fighting floor with a renewed hunger for revenge. But can he remain focused on his training as his passion for his master's daughter, Kwin, grows?

The Bronze Key: The Magisterium, Book 3

Students at the Magisterium are supposed to be safe. Under the watchful eyes of the mages, they are taught to use magic to bring order to a chaotic world. But now the chaos is fighting back. Call, Tamara, and Aaron should be worrying about things like pop quizzes and magic contests. Instead, after the shocking death of one of their classmates, they must track down a sinister killer...and risk their own lives in the process.

The Hammer of Thor: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Book 2

Thor's hammer is missing...again. The thunder god has a disturbing habit of misplacing his weapon - the mightiest force in the Nine Worlds. But this time the hammer isn't just lost; it has fallen into enemy hands. If Magnus Chase and his friends can't retrieve the hammer quickly, the mortal worlds will be defenseless against an onslaught of giants. Ragnarok will begin. The Nine Worlds will burn. Unfortunately the only person who can broker a deal for the hammer's return is the gods' worst enemy, Loki - and the price he wants is very high.

The Sorcerer of the North: Ranger's Apprentice, Book 6

Years have passed since Will led his people to victory in The Battle for Skandia, and now he oversees a peaceful fief in the south. Will's quiet days come to a sudden end, however, when troubling news arrives from the north. The king has been poisoned, and Will's abilities are desperately needed to track down the culprit - who's rumored to be an evil wizard.

The Battle of Hackham Heath: Ranger's Apprentice: The Early Years

When the former Baron Morgarath escaped to avoid punishment for treason, an uneasy peace fell on Araluen. But Morgarath, now in hiding, is already planning his next move, recruiting an army of savage, overpowering beasts known as Wargals. Newly crowned King Duncan knows he must assemble his troops for battle.

The Tournament at Gorlan: Ranger's Apprentice: Early Years, Book 1

When Halt and Crowley discover that the ambitious Morgarath has been infiltrating the Rangers in order to corrupt the Corps, the young Rangers travel north to find Prince Duncan, seeking a royal warrant to stop Morgarath before it is too late. By weakening the Rangers, the most powerful force in support of the King, Morgarath plans to steal the throne.

The Creeping Shadow: Lockwood & Co., Book 4

After leaving Lockwood & Co. at the end of The Hollow Boy, Lucy is a freelance operative hiring herself out to agencies that value her ever-improving skills. One day she is pleasantly surprised by a visit from Lockwood, who tells her he needs a good Listener for a tough assignment. Penelope Fittes, the leader of the giant Fittes Agency, wants them - and only them - to locate and remove the Source for the legendary Brixton Cannibal.

The Iron Trial: Book One of The Magisterium

Most kids would do anything to pass the Iron Trial. Not Callum Hunt. He wants to fail. All his life, Call has been warned by his father to stay away from magic. If he succeeds at the Iron Trial and is admitted into the Magisterium, he is sure it can only mean bad things for him. So he tries his best to do his worst - and fails at failing. Now the Magisterium awaits him. It's a place that's both sensational and sinister, with dark ties to his past and a twisty path to his future.

StarChaser: TodHunter Moon, Book 3

Almost one year ago, Alice TodHunter Moon left her PathFinder village to become Apprentice to ExtraOrdinary Wizard Septimus Heap. Now, in faraway lands, the Castle is in peril. The brilliant blue stone is crumbling to dust, and both the witch Marisa and the wicked Red Queen have their eyes on the throne. But as Tod sets off on a hazardous journey to find a new Keystone, her life may be in the greatest danger of all. Can she save the Castle while evading the fate that befell her mother?

United as One

The Mogadorians have invaded Earth. Their warships loom over our most populated cities, and no country will risk taking them head-on. The Garde are all that stand in the way, but they'll need an army of their own to win this fight. They've teamed up with the US military, but it might not be enough. The Garde need reinforcements, and they've found them in the most unexpected place. Teenagers from across the globe, like John Smith's best friend, Sam, have developed abilities.

Publisher's Summary

I must be brave.

I must do what has to be done.

I am Alice.

Alice is the most powerful witch the county has ever seen. She may one day be the most evil. But Alice is also the best friend - and true love - of Tom Ward. Together they work to defeat the Fiend - the world's greatest evil - once and for all.

They have nearly everything they need, all except a blade hidden in the Dark, the Fiend's domain. So Alice ventures there to find it. She faces the most terrifying creatures in existence. And she once again battles old enemies who bear grudges: Bony Lizzie, Bloodeye, and more.

And there's something Tom didn't tell her. To vanquish the Fiend, Tom must sacrifice the person he loves most. Alice is hunting for the very blade that will eventually kill her.

Over the past several weeks I've listened to the entire Last Apprentice series of audio books that are currently available. I loved the performance of all the previous books, especially how Christopher Evan Welch performed all the various voices of Tom, Master Gregory, Grimaulkin and especially Alice. So imagine my surprise when for this last book they decided to switch to a different performer. In this book, gone is Alice's accent and attitude which is replaced by someone who thinks monotone whispering conveys emotion. Some of the voices sound more like computer/robot voices than the supposedly gutteral voice of a feral lamia. It was extremely disappointing and distracting at times. I sincerely hope they bring back Christopher Evan Welch for the next book.

Absolutely! I have recommended this series to several friends, and each of them has fallen in love with the characters and the world in which they live. The stories are always well written, and each has a way of pulling you in. Putting it simply, the previous books have all been amazingly fun and despite some serious flaws in the presentation, this book was no different.

Who was your favorite character and why?

To avoid spoilers, I'll say, Alice's "traveling companion" for the majority of the book. It was great to see more development for this character and I thought the pairing was a great fit.

How could the performance have been better?

After Angela Goethals' dismal performance in co-narrating "Slither," I'm not sure why she was asked to do an entire story, especially one so close to the main plot. I will acknowledge that I thoroughly enjoy Christopher Evan Welch's narration, and at 11 books and counting, each character is closely intertwined with his vocal style. Alice's unique grammar and mannerisms are a perfect example. Within 10 minutes of starting the book, Angela's performance had rendered Alice as a completely different character from her previous incarnations.

The rest of the book proceeds in the much the same way, stilted and lifeless. With the brief exception of her voicing of Lizzie. For some unknown reason, Angela was able to find her stride with Lizzie's brief role in the book, then immediately returned to drawling monotone. At the very least she could have taken a look at the previous material to check the pronunciation of the various character names and places (Every single time she said, "Wined" instead of "Wind" I cringed).

At the end of the day, I just hope there was a solid reason for not having Welch involved in this project, and barring serious improvement, that this will be the last we'll hear from Ms. Goethals.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

"No, seriously! This one is ACTUALLY inspired by the acclaimed series!"

Although I found her narration bearable in Slither, this was terrible. No emotion and made Alice's character and the story uninteresting. Plus, I'm not sure why they chose a narrator with an American accent when the story has been using British english the rest of the time. The dialect is an important part of the setting and the diversion was distracting.

Ruined the story for me and will not risk going with this narrator again unless I'm looking for something to put me to sleep on purpose.

Would you consider the audio edition of I Am Alice to be better than the print version?

It would've been but no. The narrator is just terrible. I couldn't finish "Slither" thanks to her. She is NOT a good narrator for these books. Way over dramatic and boring. Changed the character entirely. I am extremely disappointed because Alice is such an important character, why ruin her? Please NEVER use Angela for these books again. PLEASE listen/read the ratings. We are the ones who buy. We are the ones who love or hate the audiobooks. Don't ruin it for us anymore. It was such a great book series.

Who was your favorite character and why?

It's Alice, because she's just a great character. But the narrator is the worse thing that could've happened to Alice. RUINED

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Angela Goethals?

Christopher Evan Welch. He did great with all the other books. You know a narrator is bad if people prefer a MAN reading as a girl instead of a WOMAN. He was great. PLEASE don't have her ever again in this series.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes. I wanted to cry when I found out Angela was reading this book. I never finished Slither and even returned it thanks to her. So audible is losing money thanks to her terrible narration.

I've bought and listened to every single book in this series. I always look forward to another book in the series with relish and anticipation. I loved the idea of having a book in Alice's point of view, however the narrator absolutely ruined it for me. If the author reads these ratings PLEASE PLEASE let Christopher Evan Welch do the narration in the future. He is absolutely fantastic and gets me really involved in the story. I almost gave up on this book because I couldnt stand the narrator and that has never happened to me before with this series. I will defintiely not be buying any more books in the series if Angela Goethals is kept as narrator. Christopher did such an amazing Alice... why change a good thing???

What didn’t you like about Angela Goethals’s performance?

Compared to Christopher, her narration of the story was dull and boring. I actually felt sleepy listening to her voice and drifting from the story.

Was I Am Alice worth the listening time?

I really wanted to love this book because I love Alice's character. I just couldnt get over the monotone voice that at some parts were breathy like Marilyn Monroe? I didnt know if the narrator was trying to sound scared or excited?

Any additional comments?

The story itself is interesting and had promise. Just couldnt get into book because of narrator.

I have read and listen to all the last Apprentice books and I have to say this is my favorite so far. The only thing I am upset about is that Christopher Evan Welch didn't narrate this book. I look foward to his vioce through all the Last Apprentice books, so you can say I was disappointed when I found out it wasn't him. I liked the way he does Alice's vioce. I don't understand why they had to change it now. I am bummed. I really hope he narrates the next book. Other then that. It was awesome. Love The last Apprentice books and i can't wait for the next. I will be so disappointent when they are all done. I look forward to DeLaney's books every year. I hope after this series he keeps them rolling.

Continuing the series from Alice's point of view was brilliant, giving her character more depth and letting us see the struggle within herself between light and dark.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Finding allies in the dark. And the alternative given at the end is a terrifying prospect. But seriously, what's up with Pan?

How could the performance have been better?

Get rid of Angela Goethals completely. If the rest of the books in the series have her as a narrator, I'm not spending another penny on the books. She reads in a strained monotone, like she's slightly strung out and sustains it the entire time. Christopher Evan Welch brings age, despair, happiness, joy, caution, passion, wryness, discipline, joviality, etc, in his reading of the series. This narrator needs to lay off the valium.